Keith Brown has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Ochil Constituency since May 2007. Before his election he served for eleven years as a councillor in Clackmannanshire, and held the post of Council Leader from 1999 to 2003. He has also been since 1999 a member of the European Union's Committee of the Regions, serving as President (2004-2006) of the Union for a Europe of the Nations - European Alliance (UEN-EA) group on that body. He was appointed Minister for Schools and Skills in February 2009.
Mr Brown worked for 15 years as a local government professional in neighbouring Stirling, where he was also an active trade union representative with UNISON. He is a graduate of Dundee University and a former Marine who served in the Falklands. Originally from Edinburgh, Keith now lives in Dollar with his three children.